As soon as I opened though, I let out a little shriek of surprise at who was standing on the other side.
“What are you doing here?”
14
Buck
I watched on from the other side of the bar in disgust as the women’s damn knights in shining armor showed up. The women had all flocked like women do to the bathroom and I thought I mighta had my chance to snatch Ruth out from among them.
But no, right at that exact moment, Reece, Jeremiah, and that big, deformed bastard visiting for the week all swept in, stopped by the table, and then the twins angled toward the restrooms, surprising the girls as they came out.
Which just fucking steamed him. Cutting him off from his quarry again, right when he’d psyched himself up to finally take action.
What was he gonna do now? Keep waiting? Waiting for fucking what? For the world to end? His was falling down all around him as he sat here. He had no more fucking money and with another missed payment, they were gonna repo his damn truck.
He staggered off his chair and wove through the crowd toward the exit. Think. Think. He pounded on the side of his head as he wove and stumbled down the sidewalk toward his truck.
There had to be some way to make it all right.
To make it fair. It couldn’t be too late. It was never too late.
Fuck, his head was bleary. It was hard to think straight.
Tomorrow. He’d figure it all out tomorrow.
And then she’d pay.
He’d make her pay.
It was the last thought he had as he yanked open his door, dropped into the back seat, and passed out.
15
Jeremiah
I woke up only a little bit bleary-eyed the next morning. I hadn’t had much to drink last night at the bar with the women, but I knew I was the only one.
They’d all been well on their way to blotto by the time we’d shown up. Well, Charlie had looked pretty steady on her feet, but after we got there, I never saw her without a vodka soda in her hand. Olivia giggled every time she got a new one, but then that girl was three shots past blasted.
Neither Reece or I was super comfortable with the thought of the girls out barhopping without anyone there to watch out for them, and it turned out Xavier had even stronger feelings on the subject when his wife was involved, so it was inevitable we’d ended up crashing their party.
And it was fun.
Although seeing Ruth in that tight, revealing little number she’d been wearing last night and keeping my hands off her had been difficult.
Ever since we’d begun… whatever it was we were doing… well, it just seemed wrong for her to be close and for me not to be able to put my hands on her.
And every time she danced with some other asshole there, right in front of me as if to spite me, I wanted to yank her away from him and slam her up against the wall to remind her exactly how well I could satisfy her and satisfy her so completely she could forget the face of any other man she’d ever met.
But considering my brother and future sister-in-law, not to mention our boss and his wife were right there, I’d had to cage my more caveman-like urges.
Meanwhile, Ruth just kept dancing and grinning and apparently having a grand old time, like she knew she was taunting me and was loving doing so. From the wicked little smiles she flashed my way when no one else was looking, I would have guessed it was a performance all for my benefit.
Which just made my hand twitchy for her backside.
Not that I was able to get my palm anywhere near said backside, because she just winked at me as she sent Charlie home with us and took an Uber home with Olivia.
At least I wasn’t the only one hard up. I smirked over at my brother sprawled on the cot across from my bed. He was drooling all over his pillow, arm off the cot, dragging on the floor.
“Hey, asshat,” I said, tossing my pillow at him. “Up and at ’em.”
He jerked up when my pillow hit him, looking around in alarm. When he saw it was just me, he grabbed the pillow I’d thrown at him, shoved it under his head, mumbled, “Five more minutes,” and slumped back down.
I rolled my eyes, then took pity on him.
I’m sure he would have liked to have gotten up close and personal with Charlie last night considering how they were cemented to each other on the dance floor.
Too bad Charlie’s mom was waiting up for us all to come home last night. She hurried Charlie in the house and glared at Reece for getting her baby home so late. I’d almost busted up laughing in my brother’s bereft face right in front of the in-laws.